The learning environment present in most public and private schools is structured to teach a predetermined amount of material within a given time to the average student who learns well in a group environment and socializes easily with his or her classmates. Unfortunately, many students with special needs such as very bright students do not learn well in a group environment or have learning difficulties such as attention deficit disorder (ADD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) which prohibit them from learning at the level at which they are capable. These students are easily distracted from their learning tasks by auditory and visual stimuli within the learning environment. Such auditory and visual stimuli include movement and talking of classmates, people passing by the classroom door, an inclass heater turning on, or activities seen or heard through a classroom window. While teachers may attempt to reduce the distractions to a student by carefully selecting their seating position within the room, these distractions remain a significant problem for such students. Some students learn at a pace faster than their peers or have an inability to focus on tasks for the length of time required to teach a large number of students. Alternately, select students need particularized repetition in a single mode, such as those students who learn better using one sense or another, such as those students who learn primarily by hearing and who greatly benefit from listening to a lesson repeatedly.
Due to the large number of students which must be taught in each classroom and the time constraints, teachers are unable to structure and provide special lessons which are appropriate for these students. The number of people who fail to complete grammar or high school despite their high intelligence are numerous and well known. Thus, it is apparent that the learning environment in most schools possesses insufficient flexibility to accommodate these "special needs" children as the traditional learning environment cannot be easily "custom fit" to teach each child in the fashion which is most effective for them.
There exist a variety of substitutes for the typical learning environment for those children who cannot function appropriately or learn at their level within the environment provided by most public and private schools. Home schooling of children by parents is a fast growing phenomenon which is gaining popularity in the United States. Many parents choose home schooling because their children have not performed well in the traditional classroom environment for a variety of reasons. Another substitute for the typical learning environment which is provided by public and private schools include special educational programs or special classes within the same facilities which offer the traditional learning classes. Unfortunately, these special classes isolate children from their peers and these children fail to learn appropriate socialization skills. Such children are often labeled as "different" and are ostracized by their peers.
The disadvantages of these substitutes for the typical learning environment are numerous and include increased expense as well as potential socialization problems for the children. The level of learning which is accomplished by these students in selected substitutes for the typical learning environment is uncertain.
Thus, by increasing the flexibility of the traditional learning environment to accommodate these special children, these children may avoid the negative social stigma without sacrificing their education or posing significant financial constraints on parents or schools.